Railway Sleepers

Sicut’s railway sleepers are made from recycled materials using technologies developed by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and Polywood Inc and offer superior performance, significantly better value and a unique solution to customer needs, where whole life cycle value is the focus, and demand is driven by price, performance, durability and legislation.

In excess of 300,000 composite sleepers made using the Rutgers and Polywood Technologies have now been installed in track around the world from mainline and transit lines in the US, to mainline and underground lines in Europe to mining applications in Australia. Sleepers made using these technologies have been extensively tested in the US and Europe, and currently meet or exceed all standards. This technology is fast becoming the tested, proven and superior railway sleeper choice for the domestic and international railways and mining industries around the world.

Following the success in North America, sleepers made using these technologies have been installed in UK, France, Belgium, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Morocco and Russia as well as across the Americas, on main lines, freight lines, crossings, bridges, switch sets, metro lines, tunnels and mining tracks. These sleepers have been shown to resist plate wear, hold spikes, and maintain gauge after fourteen years and over 1.8 Billion tonnes of heavy haul traffic.

Sleepers made using the Rutgers and Polywood technologies were extensively tested over a 12 year period against the full range of AREMA and ASTM standards in the US, not only in the laboratory and on the test track, but also on main line applications. Repeat testing has been undertaken on products that had been in use for over 10 years, and these tests showed that product performance in some instances improved during service.

Sicut’s products are non-corrosive, impervious to moisture and non-chemical leaching. They possess superior lifecycles and have greater durability than competitive products made from wood, steel or concrete. They are virtually impervious to the elements; will not rust, splinter, crumble, rot, absorb moisture or leach toxic chemicals into the environment, and are completely impervious to infestation by insects. At the same time our sleepers are lightweight and require significantly less maintenance, providing a significant reduction in transportation, handling and overhead costs.

Importantly Sicut’s sleepers feature a patented embossed side and bottom pattern which locks the sleeper into a set position within the ballast, to minimise lateral movement, increase stability, reduce excessive contact forces and track wear, reduce noise and vibration and provide a lighter alternative to concrete.

The mechanical properties of the sleepers is achieved without the use of steel reinforcement bars, allowing Sicut’s sleepers to be recycled after use and eliminating water/moisture ingress, undetected cracking, and potential steel rusting, which can all lead to sleeper malfunction. Our sleepers do not require indoor storage and are handled and installed with the same equipment used for timber sleepers.

Sicut’s sleepers are made from recycled material, and each mile of our composite sleepers keeps tons of plastic bottles and waste from going to landfill, our oceans or being sent abroad.

“rail ties [made using the Rutgers technology and Polywood Technologies] have performance capabilities that far exceed any other composite tie on the market. This is a fantastic eco-solution that makes sense financially, logistically, and environmentally.” Mickey Morales, President of Eastern Rail